NARUSAKU ;; cornerstone
set at the end of the rescue gaara arc; enjoy!
There was no explanation for the sharp sting in her side Sakura felt when a large Sand nin relieved her of Chiyo's body. Or maybe there was; he inadvertently jostled the deep wound Sasori had inflicted, causing Sakura to hiss. It wasn't life threatening, but the pain was real enough to merit attention. She lit her fingers with healing chakra and fluttered them over her abdomen, carefully examining the extent of the damage.
It was Kankuro who noticed this. "Are you okay?"
Sakura looked up at the puppeteer and gave him a thumbs up with the hand not occupied with making sure her innards weren't ruptured or hemorrhaging. "Just fine, Kankuro."
He looked skeptical, but of all those gathered to witness Gaara's revival, Kankuro knew best her abilities as a medic. "If you say so."
Kankuro turned away without further question, returning his attention to his brother and sister and the subdued jubilation of the Kazekage's revival. Temari was kneeling beside Gaara, who was now sitting up and looking as tired as Sakura had ever seen him. His eyes, always heavy, seemed sunken into darker rings than ever and as she worked to knit her own deep tissues back together again, she felt the undeniable urge to go and check him over at least one good time. She rubbed her stomach, frowning both at the hole pierced through her vest and at Naruto where he squatted very much in the way of Gaara's reunion with his siblings. He was talking loud and cracking wise, grinning as if he hadn't been on the verge of total breakdown only moments before, as if Gaara had only been laying down for an ill-timed nap and not dead at their feet, and he was smiling so beautifully as he did it that Sakura thought her heart might stop at the sight.
Do not risk your life so foolishly. Chiyo's parting wisdom was still fresh in Sakura's ear and as it rang about in her head like a bell, she thought she understood. She let the soft glow of her chakra fade and her hand fall into her lap just as Naruto finally seemed to notice that she had been ailing.
"Are you okay, Sakura-chan?" he asked belatedly. In his distraction Temari took her turn to fawn over her brother and Sakura tried to smile at Naruto even half as brilliantly as he did for her.
"I'm fine, Naruto," she replied. But Sakura knew then and knew it well that she couldn't afford any more reckless choices and deep tissue wounds for no reason at all other than hating to lose.
Her risks had to count for something.